{"id":706107,"date":"2026-05-31T10:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/706107\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T10:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:32:13","slug":"rickys-big-call-on-blues-strange-dilemma-and-revelation-over-selfless-training-acts-from-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/706107\/","title":{"rendered":"Ricky\u2019s big call on Blues\u2019 Strange dilemma… and revelation over selfless training acts from rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethan Strange delivered yet another masterclass to down the Cowboys<\/a> only days after a triumphant Origin debut, and there\u2019s been one question on everyone\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n

Will the 21-year-old retain his No.6 jersey with Mitchell Moses a strong chance to be fit and available for the second game of the Origin series?<\/p>\n

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Moses was a late omission from Game I due to a hamstring issues suffered during Blues training, with Strange slotting into his starting spot \u2014 and delivering.<\/p>\n

Strange scored a try, had another disallowed and also delivered a try-saving tackle to go with 101 running metres and three linebreak assists in a truly impressive Origin debut.<\/p>\n

So does Ricky Stuart believe he should retain the five-eighth spot after scoring and assisting another try on Sunday night?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not up to me mate. There\u2019s still another game to go,\u201d he said when asked the question in the post-match press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in these positions, there\u2019s always something that jumps up for the coach and their selection team. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just think the best thing he can do, which we spoke about, was that he can play really well for us and make it really hard for them not to pick him.\u201d<\/p>\n

But behind Strange\u2019s stellar form were two unsung heroes, according to Stuart, who highlighted the influence of both Moses and NSW halfback Nathan Cleary.<\/p>\n

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Ricky Stuart has weighed in on whether Ethan Strange should retain the Blues’ No.6 jersey.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

Strange spent time with Moses and Cleary on the 2025 Ashes tour last year, and the Raiders playmaker soaked in as much as he could from that pairing.<\/p>\n

The young gun didn\u2019t end up making his Kangaroos debut, but he didn\u2019t have to wait long to earn representative honours and Stuart paid tribute to Strange\u2019s teammates for their influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate what Mitchell and Nathan, the way they bring him into the fold,\u201d Stuart explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they were on the Kangaroos tour last year, (Strange) expressed to me how they did a lot of individual work at the back-end of trainings and it was the same in Origin camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey probably underestimate what they are passing on to a very young, up-and-coming NRL representative player. I appreciate how they\u2019re helping.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a scary warning, Stuart also said that Strange was \u201cnowhere near the finished product\u201d but added he had \u201cdefinitely grown into his game\u201d.<\/p>\n

Raiders skipper Joe Tapine, meanwhile, heaped praise on his talented playmaker, saying: \u201cI think for me, like \u2018Stick\u2019 said he\u2019s not a finished product.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Passive & Attitude’: Payten’s message | 03:13<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see him slowly growing, especially he came back from Aussie camp last year, and Origin camp he obviously killed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s bringing those experiences back to our club and playing outstanding footy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Daine Laurie was a surprise inclusion at lock when Canberra\u2019s team list was unveiled on Tuesday, but the former Panther was impressive in a new role.<\/p>\n

Laurie had previously spent time in the halves, the outside backs and at fullback in his career but Stuart was happy to deploy him into the middle of the park, and that move paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate to have his utility value… he\u2019s just a footy player,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s game is probably more than ever, since I\u2019ve been involved in the game, there\u2019s probably more capacity to put your best players on the field when they can play those positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s played wing, he\u2019s played centre, five-eighth, fullback but No.13 now.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a courageous player and you\u2019ve seen that tonight. But his utility value has really added to my squad.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ethan Strange delivered yet another masterclass to down the Cowboys only days after a triumphant Origin debut, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":706108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-706107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}